This beer is a Belgian Tripel that lives up to its name. Smooth and carefully crafted like a fine velvet painting, but with an 8.5% ABV this bird has some spurs! The beer pours a golden straw color with brilliant clarity. Topped with a lofty pure white head the beer has a wonderful floral nose, with subtle fruit notes. The taste is clean and crisp, with subtle fruit notes and a touch of candy like sweetness. The beer has a Champagne-like effervescent that provides a crisp offset to its sweet finish. While a pint glass is always nice, Velvet Rooster would also be at home in a tulip glass or Champagne flute.

Reviews by Franziskaner:

Light golden hued with great clarity. A quarter inch of off white foam rests on top and there is light Brussels lacing. I smell faint light malt and Belgian candy sugar. There's a sweetness of light malt and Belgian candy sugar in the flavor. The mouth is moderately carbonated and dry. The sweetness in the flavor is slightly cloying.

More User Reviews:

Pours pretty. An orange straw with pearl white head - nice lacing with minor retention. Smells fresh and good. Some lemon, some wheat, some earthy notes. Not a huge nose, but present and pleasant. Ho man, this is good stuff. Velvet is a proper descriptor for the initial taste. Quite thick and very smooth. Sweet to start, it melds into a yeasty, bready blanket that lays fat on the tongue. The alcohol is present but not offensive in the least. It ends rounded and sweet with some minor carbonation. Good at Tallgrass for constructing such a tasty brew.

Fruity and sweet nose with some lime, coriander and yeasty/wheatyness.

On the tongue and palate, this is a flavorful, moderatly spiced and fruity take on the style. More yeast, coriander, lime, candy sugar sweetness in the finish.

Carbonation a bit soft, but that seems to only add to the drinkability...dangerous, oh so dangerous...

Love the style, love this take on it and really love that I am enjoying a quality Tripel, in a can, brewed in Kansas! I'd have this one in my regular rotation if I could get it locally or if I lived in Kansas....

Smell: The yeast is very apparent at first, with banana and clove. After a few minutes, the lemon citrus and spicy, grassy hops become more apparent (Saaz?)

Taste: Similar to the aroma, the banana and clove come barreling out of the gate, along with fleshy fruit, lemon and white pepper. Toward the finish, and especially as it warms, the hops really stand out. However, the hops are very straw- and hay-like, and distracted me a little.

Feel: Moderate carbonation, with a medium body that is more sticky than effervescent. Could have used more dryness on the finish.

Overall: Despite some minor issues with the hoppy, yet not dry, finish, this is a strong US-made Tripel, especially at the price point. And it comes in a Pint can!

Appearance: Pours a very cloudy golden orange with a moderate amount of bubbles. Big four finger white foam head with decent retention. Leaves lots of lacing around the glass.

Smell: A pretty sweet and yeast driven aroma. Good amount of Belgian yeast with a hint of clove and pepper. Bready pale malts and some good hints of citrus orange, pineapple, and lemon. Also some big hints of Belgian candied sugar. Light presence of grassy hops in the background.

Taste: Upfront is some Belgian yeast with some pepper and clove spice. Notes of Belgian candied sugar. Wheat and pale malts add some bready sweetness. Good notes of citrus orange, lemon zest, and pineapple. Very subtle hint of hops. Taste is balanced and not overly syrupy although not as strong as one might expect from the style.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Crisp and creamy. Sweet but not overly syrupy. Alcohol is hidden very well.

Overall: A solid American take on a Tripel. Could of been stronger in the spices but it avoids the overly sweet flavor that some American Belgian style beers have.

Although I have to say that the Velvet Rooster is my least favorite beer from Tallgrass Brewing, it's still a pretty decent ale.

What I don't like about it is exactly what I love about their other beers, the rich maltiness. Here, coupled with the yeast and spice flavors, I find it to be a bit much. Moving forward...

It pours a hazy, deep golden body beneath a creamy head of white. The initial lacing is quite nice, but beyond that it becomes limited to spots and small streaks. It does maintain a decent collar of foam however.

In the nose it's floral (hibiscus), fruity (apple, soft pear), and spicy (cardamom, green/black pepper, clove). I also get a bit of that chalky yeastiness sometimes found, but not much. Surprisingly missing is the malt that's so solid in the flavor.

The flavor, as noted, displays a rich maltiness that's grainy, and sweet. The floral character remains intact, along with some gently grassy hop notes. The yeast spice is intact as well... or is that a combination of yeast AND actual spice? It's firmly bitter beneath the malt, and along with the spiciness and light mineral and floral character it finishes drying as the malt fades.

In the mouth it's medium-bodied (fuller than I normally think of a tripel) and gently bristling.

Overall it's not a bad beer - it's just not what I think of as a "tripel".